Animal
by Roses of the Renaissance
Summary: AU. Slightly OOC. Sequel to You Spin Me Round. It's been three years since they saw each other. How will the girls react to having the guys thrown into their lives yet again. Scorpion/OC, Sub-Zero/OC, Ermac/OC.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing that doesn't belong to me.

* * *

Chapter One

"So," Scorpion growled, "would someone care to tell me why the hell we're here?"

"If we knew that we would've already informed you," Sub-Zero replied. Ermac said nothing, content with quietly leaning against a tree. The three of them were currently in the middle of the Living Forest and had been there for several hours. Though he wouldn't voice it aloud, Sub-Zero thought it strange for Raiden to ask them to meet here of all places. This was Outworld; Shao-Khan's domain; therefore not exactly a friendly place for any of them, especially Raiden. The sun had set a few hours ago and the Living Forest was living up to its name. Faces glared at them from all directions, mouths open in silent laughter. The whole scene was rather eerie.

Scorpion let out a huff and leaned back against his own tree. "He'd better hurry up. I was on Quan-Chi's trail when he summoned us, and I'd like to catch up with him before the bastard disappears again." Sub-Zero remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.

The only reason Raiden would have for calling the three of them together again would be to tell them more about their unknown enemy. He had been hot on the trail for whoever was working behind-the-scenes with Quan-Chi and Shang-Tsung, but they kept eluding him at the last minute. Maybe though, just maybe, they had slipped up. Sub-Zero quickly focused his mind on something else when his thoughts began straying to **her**. It had been three years since he'd watched her walk through that portal and back to her world. He'd gotten better at pushing all thoughts of her from his mind, but occasionally one would sneak up on him. Sub-Zero chanced a glance at Scorpion, then Ermac. Neither of them seemed different, and he wondered if they even thought about their former students.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a loud clap of thunder and a bright flash of light. Opening his eyes he saw Raiden now standing in the center of the small clearing they had chosen for themselves.

"I see all of you have made it," Raiden said. "Excellent! Now we can get started."

"Have you learned anymore about the one behind the two sorcerers?" Sub-Zero asked as he stood up; Scorpion and Ermac soon followed.

"As a matter-of-fact I have." Raiden slightly smiled. "I've tracked them all the way to Outworld, but I lost their trail shortly after I came here, though I doubt that they've left."

"What makes you say that?" Sub-Zero asked. Raiden spread his arms wide, gesturing to the area around them as he said, "Why would they leave? Outworld is their domain. It's where they're strongest.

"So you expect us to fight them where they are most powerful?" Ermac asked, finally breaking his long reign of silence.

"No, not quite," Raiden smirked. "I'm afraid you won't be around to make it that far." All three warriors tensed at the thunder god's words, regarding him warily.

"What do you mean 'we won't be around'?" Scorpion asked cautiously. Raiden turned to look at him and for the briefest of moments Scorpion saw his eyes flash green.

"This isn't Raiden," Scorpion growled. "It's Shang-ARGH!" He felt pain erupt behind his eyes and fell to the ground clutching his head.

"A pity you've become so good at sniffing me out," Raiden said before he morphed back into Shang-Tsung. Sub-Zero started to crouch into a fighting stance, but was surprised to find he couldn't move, and judging by the look on Ermac's face—well, what he could see of his face—he was encountering the same problem. Looking back at Shang-Tsung, Sub-Zero growled, "What is the meaning of this?" but the Sorcerer just laughed in reply.

"Isn't it obvious?" A new voice said, and the warriors looked to see Quan-Chi walk out from the shadows.

"You," Scorpion growled. The pain in his head had subsided, but he was unable to move from his kneeling position on the ground. Quan-Chi looked down at him and smirked. "It's been awhile hasn't it Scorpion. I see you've finally learned your place: groveling before me." The ninja specter let out a dangerously low growl.

"Why don't you release me and we shall see who learns their place." Quan-Chi was about to retort when a feminine voice cut him off.

"Now boys, it's not nice to harass captives when they're so utterly helpless." Three new figures walked into the clearing this time; all of them wearing long black cloaks with their hoods pulled up. The figure in front stepped forward and studied each of the warriors before reaching up and pushing back their hood.

All three warriors eyes widened in surprise as they looked at the woman standing before them. She was stunningly beautiful; having defined features and long, wavy black hair, but what drew most of their attention was her eyes. They were a brilliant shade of green, giving her an almost ethereal aura. She studied the three of them again before a small smirk found its way onto her lips, which were painted a deep purple.

"So, you three were the ones to train Raiden's chosen warriors." Her eyes strayed off to a sound in a nearby tree but soon returned to them. "I see Raiden took no chances in his pick of skilled tutors, and for that I must thank him." Her smirk deepened at the confused looks on the faces of the men before her before she continued. "By beating me he showed me that trying to win the Mortal Kombat Tournament to invade Earthrealm was a futile idea. I realized that in order to achieve my original goal I must think bigger," she paused. "Much bigger."

"You speak in riddles woman," Scorpion growled. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Now, now, if I told you that it would put everything I've worked for at risk. Not that you'll be much of a threat to it when I'm through with you," she said as she raised her hands in what looked like a silent prayer. For a moment nothing happened; Sub-Zero was just starting to wonder what the strange woman was up to when the pain hit. He doubled over with a gasp, too in pain to notice he could move again, before falling to his knees. It felt as if all the life energy were being drained out of him, leaving his body on fire. It took several moments for him to realize that the ragged screams he was hearing were his own, and through his slowly diminishing vision he could see Ermac and Scorpion writhing in the same pain. The agony hit its high, and Sub-Zero felt his body collapse before his mind followed.

The woman watched as the three men finally succumbed to the pain before lowering her hands. The spell she had cast was still running its course, and would be for a while, rendering them useless until that time, and even afterward.

"My Lady," One of the cloaked figures drew closer and bowed before continuing, "What should we do with the bodies?" The woman remained silent for a moment, studying the three unconscious figures before her.

"Send them to the Netherrealm," she declared. "Let that finish them off." With that said she turned to the two sorcerers at her back. "Now gentleman, I believe it's time we get started."

* * *

Authors note: First off I want to apologize for taking so long to get this out. My life has been rather hectic and I just sort of fell out of my Mortal Kombat phase, but I'm trying to remedy this now. I don't know when I will get to write more of this, I'm going back to college soon, but I will do my best to work on it when I can. I'm trying to clean up my writing style, but I think I still butcher the English language when I write so if you see any mistakes feel free to point them out. This story is titled after the song Animal by the Neon Trees, neither of which I own.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing that does not belong to me.

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Chapter Two

Ellen carefully picked her way through a particularly overgrown patch of vines as she made her way deeper into the woods. The objective of her journey raced ahead of her in a small black and brown blur, keeping just out of reach and barking playfully when she slowed down.

"Oh, so you think this is funny do you?" Ellen growled. "Well we'll see how funny it is when I get my hands on you." The dog, Phoebe, usually stayed in the house, and when she was let out it was always on a leash to ensure she didn't run off. There were times however, when she would catch everyone off guard and race out the door, and it would take hours to get her to go inside.

Ellen paused as she heard the unmistakable rumble of thunder roll through the sky. She could just make out the large clouds slowly creeping overhead through the canopy of leaves. It wouldn't be long until it was pouring down rain, and she would prefer to be indoors when that happened. Without moving she shifted her gaze back to Phoebe, who was sniffing around the trunk of a nearby tree. Trying not to make any sudden movements, Ellen clenched her left hand into a fist; clumps of vines shot up from the ground, trapping Phoebe in a make-shift cage. The small Yorkie cross wasn't too happy about this turn of events, and began barking loudly to express her displeasure.

"Oh, shut up," Ellen muttered as she picked the dog up and began making her way back through the woods. "You've caused me enough trouble as it is." When she emerged from the woods she realized she was in the clearing that Ermac had trained her in. She paused, staring out across the field at the spot where she'd found him meditating that one day. If memory served that was also the day Emily had thrown Sub-Zero in the washer and dryer. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly before pulling down into a frown.

_'Why did I suddenly think of him like that?'_ She glanced up as another rumble of thunder echoed through the sky. The clouds were directly overhead now and had turned an ominous shade of grey. She felt rather than heard the seeming hush of the area around her before the first few raindrops began to fall. Phoebe began squirming in her arms and Ellen glared down at her. "Oh no, if I have to get wet then you're getting wet too." Tightening her grip around the dog to make sure she didn't escape again, Ellen continued on her way to the house. She had only gone a few steps when she heard a loud crack and looked up to see a rather large tree branch falling towards her. Before she realized what she was doing she had jumped out of the way and watched as the branch crashed to the ground. Phoebe had stopped squirming and Ellen looked down to make sure she was okay before turning her attention back to the tree. The branch that had almost crushed her looked healthy and the wind wasn't blowing hard enough to knock it loose from the tree.

_'So why did it fall?'_ she pondered. Her thoughts were soon interrupted as the whole area was lit up by a sudden flash of lightning. The rain, which had been coming down in a steady drizzle, began to pour. Ellen's eyes narrowed when she looked down to see Phoebe staring up at her.

"Remember that this is your fault," she told the dog as she turned and began walking—only to trip over something lying on the ground just behind where she'd been standing. Phoebe managed to escape Ellen falling on her, and now stood barking at whatever had tripped the girl.

"Will you shut up!" Ellen yelled as she pushed herself up into a sitting position. "I swear if that was another tree branch—" The words died in her throat as she looked back and saw that it wasn't a tree branch that had tripped her.

It was a body.

Fear flooded her mind as she quickly tried to scramble away from the limp form before her; her terror only increasing as a black gloved hand closed around her ankle.

Wait, a black gloved hand, followed by a red clothed arm. Her eyes grew wide as they trailed the rest of the way up to see a face almost completely covered in black wrappings.

"Ermac!"

* * *

Toni rocked back on her heels and examined the picture she had been working on. Something about it had been bothering her but she couldn't figure out what.

"Oh," Her eyes narrowed. "I see. The balcony that I just spent an **hour** trying to line up right is still crooked. Just my luck." She grabbed an eraser and began erasing said balcony while muttering something about hating perspective. As she was about to try and tackle the picture again she heard a loud 'thump' coming from what sounded like the roof. Sitting up, she looked outside her window. Rain was pouring down in sheets and it didn't look as though the wind was blowing.

_'So if the wind didn't blow something down what caused the noise?'_ she wondered as she got up and walked out to her living room. Once there she walked over to two large windows facing out towards the road. Not seeing anything there she turned, about to go back to her room, but stopped when she heard what sounded like something sliding overhead. Frowning, she looked back around just in time to see a body fall from her roof onto the ground.

She screamed.

Scorpion couldn't remember much. He recalled pain; white-hot and searing throughout his body. He recalled falling and landing on something metal and smooth and wet. He wasn't aware he was sliding down the smooth surface until he was once again falling, only this time the fall was shorter and the unforgiving surface he landed on had to be the ground. He slowly opened his eyes—well aware that every inch of his body was seemingly screaming at him—to see grey skies and the overhang of the roof he had fallen off of. Something shifted in his peripheral vision, but before he could even think about moving a girl appeared overhead. Something at the back of his mind nagged at him. He knew he should know this girl, but his thoughts were too unfocused to recall who she was. He watched water drip off of her side-swept bangs and the long braid that hung over her shoulder. He saw her eyes widen behind dark green, almost black, rectangular glasses, and her mouth formed one word, "You!"

* * *

Emily dug her keys out of her pocket before running from the restaurant entry-way to the lot out back. She had managed to get off early from work and was eager to get back home and relax. She was so caught up in her own thoughts as she unlocked her car that she didn't notice the figure behind her until a heavy hand clamped down on her shoulder. Another hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream of surprise, and she began clawing at it, willing her internal temperature to raise high enough to burn whoever it was holding her captive. She heard a hiss of pain, but the person didn't let go. She was about to burn them further, but was startled when they spoke.

"E-Emily, stop, it's me..." Her eyes widened and she abruptly stopped struggling. _'That voice...it can't be!'_ She quickly turned around to see Sub-Zero standing there, looking as though he could fall over dead at any minute.

"Sub-Zero, you...what happened to you? Why are you here?" He swayed before resting a hand against her car, and when he spoke she could barely hear him over the roar of the rain.

"We were...ambushed. I have to...have to find Raiden." He pitched forward suddenly and Emily scrambled to catch him, almost falling herself when all of his weight came to bear on her. When she was sure she wasn't going to lose her balance she shifted so that she had one of Sub-Zero's arms draped over her shoulder and her arm around his waist. This was when she realized that she would be unable to open her car's back door and support the unconscious cryomancer at the same time, and she became acutely aware that she was in town. Granted, not many people were out today, and the restaurant slightly concealed the lot from the road, but they were surrounded by houses and someone could see them at any moment. Emily sighed before looking down at the ground. "Now what am I supposed to do?"

"Help me get him in your car." Her head shot up at this newest voice and she looked over to see Raiden on Sub-Zero's other side.

"Raiden, what's going on! Why are you all here?" The thunder god paused for a moment before giving Emily a serious look.

"Help me get him to somewhere safe and I will explain everything there."

* * *

Raiden had set up a make-shift medical bay in Toni's grandmother's house. The house had been uninhabited since the elderly woman had passed away and it was the only place the girl or Raiden could think of that was close by and inconspicuous. The house thankfully had three bedrooms, so they set each warrior up in one and Raiden busied himself trying to treat their injuries. The girls remained in the living room, talking amongst themselves and making sure no one stopped by to see what they were doing there. Even though the house belonged to her parents Toni wouldn't put it past someone to call the police on them just because they didn't recognize the cars in the drive-way.

After about an hour Raiden emerged at the entrance to the main hallway.

"All three are stable," he said in answer to their questioning looks. "But I can't figure out what exactly is wrong with them."

"What do you mean?" Toni asked.

"They have very few external injuries, and those that they do have are a result of the falls they took." He turned towards Emily. "You told me that Sub-Zero said they'd been ambushed. Did he say by whom?" Emily shook her head before replying, "He just said they were ambushed and he needed to speak with you." Raiden sighed and glared at the wall before directing his attention back to them.

"I have a feeling that they found the person who's working with Shang-Tsung and Quan-Chi, or rather, that person found **them**. It looks as though some sort of spell was cast on them, but until it runs its course we won't be able to tell what its purpose was. I know I told you three that we would take care of this, but with what's happened now we're at a disadvantage." He paused before continuing, "I'm aware that it's not your fight, but I must ask: would you three be willing to step up once again and fight for the safety of Earthrealm?" The girls glanced at each other for a moment before looking back at him. The answer he received was simple,

"Where do we start?"

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Authors Note: So I managed to get some free time from marching band practice and thought I would upload this next chapter. I may not get any more of this story up for a while, but I'll try and write when I can. Once again, if you see any grammatical errors please do not hesitate to point them out to me.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not mine.

Authors Note: Thank you for all the reviews you have sent me! It has helped inspire me to start working on this again!

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Chapter Three

Scorpion awoke to find himself in a dimly lit room; it was small, and a bit stuffy. A large dresser topped with a vanity mirror sat against one wall while a chair with several old quilts stacked on it occupied a corner by the window. The bed he currently inhabited seemed to be extremely old; hence how it made a horrible creaking sound at the slightest movement. As for slight movements, the ninja specter discovered that his body no longer protested against him, but he was still quite sore. Ignoring the pain, he sat up, only then realizing there was someone else in the room.

A girl sat on an old chest that had been pushed up against the wall. She had apparently been reading some sort of book, but now her dark brown eyes were fixed on him. His mind still felt foggy, and he struggled to place where he knew her from. He remembered seeing her when he briefly woke up, but further than that he couldn't place her. She had certainly seemed to know him!

"Welcome back to the land of the living, so to speak." His eyes narrowed at the sound of her voice, recognition finally kicking in.

"You," he growled in an accusing tone accompanied by a glare. Someone must have truly despised him for him to once again end up in the company of this brat. In the past three years he had gotten pretty good at snuffing any thoughts of her that crept into his mind by telling himself he would never see her again; therefore he would never again have to endure her annoying attitude. Like most things in his revenge-laden afterlife those promising thoughts had just been thrown into the fiery rivers of the Netherrealm.

"It's nice to see you too, sunshine," she said, breaking him out of his mental torment. "I was wondering if you were ever going to wake up. You've been out for two days." He frowned as he finally remembered what had happened.

"Where are we?" For all he knew this could still be another trick of Shang-Tsung's. The girl, Toni, stood up and walked over to the door before turning back to him.

"We're at my grandmother's house," she replied. "Now, if you're well enough to walk you should come to the living room. Raiden wants to speak with you."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Raiden started. "You were attacked by Quan-Chi, Shang-Tsung and a sorceress whom you've never seen before but believe is the one who is behind this whole scheme. Am I missing anything?"

"That about covers it," Sub-Zero replied. He sat on one of the two couches in the room alongside Ermac. The couch opposite them was occupied by the two sisters while Scorpion and Toni sat in recliners diagonally from each other. Raiden was standing in the center of the room and had been intently listening to Sub-Zero's recount of what had happened. Throughout his story Sub-Zero had noticed that both Scorpion and Ermac were watching Raiden like Hawks, and he knew they were thinking the same as him.

This could still be Shang-Tsung.

Unfortunately there was no effective way to see through the sorcerer's disguises. They had gotten lucky last time—if you called excruciating pain and nausea coursing violently through one's body lucky—but if they were to uncover the sorcerer now it would have to begin with blunt accusation.

"Before we go any further into who this sorceress may be I would like to know exactly who I am speaking to," Sub-Zero said in a low tone. Raiden stared at him silently for a moment before responding, "You believe me to be Shang-Tsung still in disguise?"

"Yes," Sub-Zero answered. He noticed the girls exchange nervous looks with each other before glancing suspiciously at Raiden. Apparently the idea of Shang-Tsung tricking them into believing he was Raiden so he could finish them all off when they least expected it hadn't crossed their minds.

"I'm sorry, Sub-Zero, but I don't know of any way to prove I'm actually who I say I am. You'll have to make the decision to trust me on your own." Silence filled the room after Raiden's words and the air became laced with tension.

"Can Shang-Tsung read minds?" Toni asked, causing six pairs of eyes to focus on her. Noticing that she was now the center of attention she became slightly flustered and glared at the rest of them. "What? It's a legitimate question!"

"That it is," Raiden said with a chuckle. "As far as I know he can't read minds but I can't say for sure." Toni glanced at the others to see if they had any input on the matter before looking back at Raiden.

"In that case, tell us something that only we would know. Tell us..." she trailed off, thinking for a moment before a slightly amused smile settled on her lips, "tell us what you said to Scorpion and Sub-Zero the first time you appeared to us." Raiden frowned at the strange request but answered all the same. "I told them I was getting sick of them bickering like a couple of schoolgirls." He glared at both of them before adding, "I still am." Toni grinned and sat back in her chair. "Looks like you're the real deal." Raiden nodded and turned his attention to the rest of the group. "Are all of you satisfied as well?" Everyone seemed to be, so the thunder god continued, "Now, what exactly did this sorceress say about her plans?"

"She said that your warriors beating her in the Mortal Kombat Tournament taught her that she needed to think bigger if she was to invade Earthrealm," Sub-Zero replied.

"How else **can** someone invade Earthrealm, besides winning the tournament?" Emily asked.

"There are several other methods one could use. Shao-Kahn had his priests resurrect Queen Sindel in Earthrealm so that he could invade it under the guise of reclaiming his queen. I highly doubt that is going to be the case here though. The easiest way would be to gather the Kamidogu. With those she could reshape the realms to her liking." Raiden frowned. "Still, that is a bold move for just a sorcerer. Quan-Chi and Shang-Tsung have never tried anything so drastic."

"Are you thinking there's more to it?" Sub-Zero asked. Raiden nodded. "There has to be," he replied. "The spell she cast on you three is one of the most complex I've seen in ages. No mere sorcerer could do that." All three warriors froze and looked at the thunder god.

"What spell?" Scorpion growled. He remembered the woman knocking him out with something that had caused a ridiculous amount of pain. But that had been her only purpose, hadn't it? Raiden glanced at him in surprise. "I'm amazed you haven't noticed it yet. I couldn't be sure until the three of you woke up, but it's as I feared." Scorpion jumped up from his seat, about to threaten to drag the thunder god into the deepest pit of the Netherrealm if he didn't reveal what he knew, when he caught sight of Toni staring at him; her face was a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"What?" he snapped.

"Scorpion, your eyes..." She got up and walked over, stopping directly in front of him and peering intently up at his face. "Your eyes are normal now."

"Indeed," Raiden said in agreement. "Scorpion, take off your mask." The room once again became silent as the former Shirai Ryu stared at the thunder god incredulously. "Why should I?" he finally demanded.

"Because I'm trying to show you something," Raiden answered in a steely tone. "Now do it." He left no room for argument in his command, and the ninja specter knew that whether he did it himself or not his mask **would** be coming off. He hesitantly reached up to the ties that held his mask in place. It wasn't that he was ashamed of his true appearance since he'd become a wraith. Honestly he could care less what others thought of him, but for some reason he found himself reluctant to reveal his true nature in front of Toni. It was foolish, he knew. She was probably already well aware of what he looked like without the mask, and judging by the way she stood there, patiently waiting on him to comply, confirmed his speculation. With a sigh he loosened the ties and pulled his mask off. Usually he could feel the illusion that gave him the appearance of a normal mortal dissolve, but for some reason he didn't this time.

Without realizing what he was doing he reached up and pulled the black hood that covered the rest of his face off, letting it fall to rest around his neck. He inwardly cursed himself as he became aware of what he had done. It was a habit he had gotten into while he was still human. When he got back to his village after a job the first thing he would do was pull his mask and hood off. It was an unspoken sign that he had once again returned to the safety of his clan; it was a place where everyone knew and trusted each other. Plus, his wife wasn't very fond of him tromping around the house in full ninja attire.

Before his thoughts could become too submerged in the past he was brought back to the present by a muttered 'whoa'. Looking down he saw Toni staring at him in shock. Everyone else in the room seemed to be mirroring her expression in some way, except for Raiden, who was looking grimly at him.

"What?" he asked in irritation. Most all of them had seen him this way before so he didn't understand what their problems were. Without saying a word Toni walked over to a nearby table, picked up a mirror, and walked back over, only to hold it up so he could see his reflection. What he saw made his breath catch in surprise.

"Now do you understand?" Raiden asked. "That spell turned all three of you completely human."

* * *

Author's Note: Hello all! Once again I must apologize for disappearing for so long on this story. College has kept me busy. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing it, and I decided to put more focus on Scorpion and Toni in this one, since I feel that they didn't get that much attention in the first story. Scorpion is my favorite, after all. I'm sorry if Raiden sounds rather cranky. I just now noticed that. Also, for those of you who have this story on alert you may notice that I occasionally repost previous chapters. That is just me going back and fixing grammatical errors that I become aware of. Nothing major will be changed so you don't have to worry about going back and re-reading chapters, unless you want to of course. Please bring all grammar and spelling errors that you see to my attention and I will do my best to fix them in a timely manner.


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